Niermann and Visma | Lease a Bike ready to strike back in 2026 - 'We are quite far from UAE'

Asked to sum up the year, Niermann does not hesitate. “We had the big goal of going for all three Grand Tours again, and we won two of them. We finished second in the Tour de France. So I think we can call it a success.”

Then comes the qualifier that still sits at the centre of Visma | Lease a Bike’s winter. “Although, of course, the biggest race of the year is the Tour de France. We would have really liked to win it, and this year it was not possible against Pogačar.” It is a familiar dynamic for teams built around July. The season can look impressive on paper, yet the internal scorecard is harsher. 

Despite missing out on the Tour de France, satisfaction is what comes through most clearly from Niermann. “Was it our best season ever? For sure not, but we had a lot of nice results. I think the stage victories of Wout van Aert, of course, come into mind, in Siena and in Paris, and the GC victories of Simon Yates and Jonas Vingegaard, and Matteo Jorgenson winning Paris-Nice once again. These races we are really proud of.”

The comparison for success that matters most, though, is not internal. It is the one across the aisle. “We have to admit and congratulate UAE that they had a great season with almost 100 victories, and we are quite far from that, but that also gives us inspiration again to work even harder, to look into all the details.” 

It sounds polite, but it functions as a benchmark. Visma | Lease a Bike can accept being beaten on a given day, yet the idea of drifting away from the pace setter is harder to swallow.

Where that urgency becomes visible is in the spring. “For sure, we didn’t have the Spring Classics campaign that we would have liked to have, and that’s something to improve on from this year on.” There is no dressing it up. Just a problem stated plainly, and a season ahead built around fixing it.

After naming the classics as a priority, Niermann moves straight to how they approached the selection procedure for 2026. “We already knew it would be difficult to get a new contract with some riders.” Another part of the reset is simply making space. “We wanted to give the new generation a bigger chance.”

The other driver of rebuilding the roster is reliability, shaped by what derailed plans in 2024 and 2025. “An aspect in 2024 and also 2025, unfortunately, was certainly also crashes and injuries.” So scouting shifted from pure talent to availability and consistency as well.

“We looked for riders who, on paper, in their recent history, have been consistent throughout the year, having a good amount of race days every year, not being injured or sick all the time.” It is not the romantic way to talk about transfers, but it is a very modern way to build a season that does not collapse at the first setback.

Recruitment, though, he explains, is not driven by one metric. “We look for big engines in general.” Then he narrows it down even further. “We look for real cyclists.” The phrase carries weight in this context because it is not just about watts, but about positioning, handling, and the ability to deliver under chaos, especially in the races Visma | Lease a Bike flagged as a weakness.

And for all the sport’s obsession with numbers, Niermann keeps one foot in the old school. “Data is not everything. You need the racing skills, the bike handling.” The gaps he is talking about are not always visible in a spreadsheet. “The TV coverage hasn’t even started, where we saw, in this first crucial moment of the day.”

The way they identify those riders is layered. “It goes via a lot of ways.” Niermann sketches a small ecosystem of scouting and analysis, starting with constant race watching. “I'm very fortunate that my colleague Patrick Broe [Head of Strategy] is watching every single race that exists on the cycling calendar and comes up with a lot of suggestions.” 

From there, the process becomes more concrete. “We have our data analyst, and when we get more concrete about a rider, we ask for their data and analyse that.” He also points to the value of lived experience on the road. “Other sports directors see riders racing and know riders.” 

With the roster more or less set, the next stage is planning. “We have an idea of how we want to approach next season.” The details come later, in person. “We had the December camp to talk to all of the riders about their race programs, what we have in mind for them.”

Strip it back, and the message is simple. The base level is high, and the appetite is higher. Visma | Lease a Bike is recalibrating against a rival that raised the bar, and the target stays the same. “Our biggest goal and biggest dream is always winning the Tour de France,” Niermann concluded.